On November 25, a planning forum organized by Diario de Avisos and the Arona City Council was held at the Hotel Villa Cortés in Arona. The meeting brought together municipal representatives, technicians, and specialists in territorial planning to analyze the municipality’s current challenges and the possible solutions that will shape its development in the coming years. Miguel Muñoz, coordinator of the Playa Paraíso Technology Park initiative, attended the event and shared his impressions of a series of intense and particularly revealing sessions for understanding where the south of Tenerife is headed.
Arona’s Councillor for Urban Planning, Javier Baute —one of the main speakers— opened the day by emphasizing the importance of approaching the municipality’s development from an integrated perspective: housing, mobility, and planning must move forward together rather than as isolated compartments. The most relevant points of his presentation included:
–The Partial Plan of El Mojón, which is emerging as one of the most significant development areas in the municipality — practically a “new city” within Arona.
–The promotion of housing in areas such as Cho–Parque La Reina, which will be one of the most important in the south.
–The need to allocate residential land, taking advantage of existing legal tools such as the 2003 Housing Law, which allows part of classified urban land to be designated for both public and private housing through development units.
–The creation of an in-house environmental body, which would streamline administrative procedures and give the municipality greater autonomy.
One of the central themes was the growing difficulty of finding affordable housing in the region. It was noted that the problem is not solved merely by building more, but by adjusting territorial planning to bring places of residence closer to places of work. The lack of such proximity puts pressure on the roads and results in increasingly congested mobility.
The speakers stressed that traffic problems in the south of Tenerife will not be resolved by adding more lanes to the motorway, as this is only a temporary measure that does not address the root cause. In fact, the lack of updated urban and territorial planning complicates decision-making. The Tenerife Island Council is considering improving connections with the south of the island, including the study of a railway line, and the completion of the island ring road is seen as a strategic and urgent action.
Urban planning expert Luis García, another of the speakers, highlighted that current planning processes are too slow and fail to keep pace with social and economic changes. He proposed making planning tools more flexible, using urgent national-level decree laws when needed, and encouraging private housing within balanced urban development frameworks.
For his part, Damián Hernández —the third speaker— addressed the complex municipal licensing system, particularly in Arona, where a lack of staff makes administrative processing difficult. As possible solutions, he proposed collaboration with entities such as GESPLAN or GESTUR, along with state-level measures to speed up licensing.
Several speakers emphasized that without private-sector collaboration, many projects cannot be carried out. The most frequently cited example was the Partial Plan of El Mojón, where public–private coordination is seen as essential. In conclusion, the speakers agreed on the need to plan from a realistic perspective; to promote cities designed for living, not just for occupying; to strengthen the municipality’s identity through housing, adequate mobility, and coherent urban planning strategies; and to maintain an overarching vision that integrates all possible development units.
In addition to attending the presentations, Miguel Muñoz had the opportunity to speak with both the mayor of Arona, Fátima Lemes, and the Councillor for Urban Planning. During these conversations, he recalled that, at the time, Arona’s former mayor had offered to study the Partial Plan of El Mojón as an alternative for the Playa Paraíso Technology Park project if Adeje’s planning did not allow it.
The day ended on an optimistic note with a clear message: Arona has sufficient tools to respond to its citizens and face the challenges of the future, provided there is flexibility, coordination, and a strategic vision. After the forum concluded, Miguel enjoyed a walk through Arona’s main tourist area, visiting several key gastronomic spots —among them the Palapa Beach Club, opposite the Mediterranean Palace— in a perfect setting to wrap up a day dedicated to imagining what Arona could become.
–Urban Planning in Arona, an Unfinished Business. Article published by Rafael Dorta Francisco in the digital newspaper Sol del Sur de Tenerife, dated November 25, 2025:
–Half a Thousand Major Building Permits Are “Backed Up” in Arona. Article published by El Día, dated November 25, 2025:
https://www.eldia.es/tenerife/2025/11/25/fatima-lemes-urbanismo-arona-movilidad-124106492.html
Hotel Europe Villa Cortés
Website:
https://www.europe-hotels.org/villa-cortes/
On Google Maps:
https://share.google/Dej3yjl4ZoTc4SyKG
On Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/villacortescom?igsh=dDd4NjZ4OXFyd3Yz
–Palapa Beach Club
Website:
On TripAdvisor:
On the Mare Nostrum Resort website:
https://marenostrumresort.com/restaurantes/palapa/
On Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/palapabeachclub?igsh=bDFtOWExZW4yaXIy
–Website of the Hotel Mediterranean Palace:
https://www.mediterraneanpalacehotel.com/es/
–Urban Planning in Arona, an Unfinished Business. Article by Rafael Dorta Francisco, published in the newspaper Sol del Sur de Tenerife on November 25, 2025:
–Challenges for the Urban Future of Southern Tenerife. Article published in El Día on November 25, 2025:
https://www.eldia.es/tenerife/2025/11/25/retos-futuro-urbanistico-sur-tenerife-124113283.html
–The New City in Southern Tenerife Will Become a Reality and Will Have at Least 9,000 Tourist Beds. Article published in Tourinews on September 17, 2025:
–The Golden Mile (shopping center in Playa de las Américas):
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